On our last studio night, KB and I spent the evening (and I mean the entire evening) getting two good guitar tracks for an upcoming song (currently called “What’s Mine Is Mine”). We wanted to get a good dose of feedback, and a nice crunchy tube sound for the tracks.[…]
Gear (Lust)
Funking Funkbox
I’ve been watching eBay for years, looking for a Gibson Maestro MRK-2 drum machine that’s in good shape and is affordable. I totally got to digging it while listening to Sly and the Family Stone and Graham Central Station. In some of their recordings you can hear the MRK-2 cranking through an[…]
So Koool
I asked old Santy Claus for a little bit of music gear this past Christmas. Shocker, right? But this year it wasn’t a request for some gazillion dollar guitar or synth or the like. I asked for a Korg Kaossilator. It goes for a little over a hundred bucks, fits[…]
The V-drum experiment (part 2)
In part 1 I explained the circumstances behind the way we wound up deciding to use a Roland V-drum kit for some drum sessions for the first time. So, with the electronic kit set up and somewhat (I thought) dialed in, Jim Evans arrived for the session and we got[…]
Epiphone versus Gibson
Recently I was talking with a friend about guitars, which isn’t unusual. I’ve got a few electric guitars, all with tremolos, and I was talking about how much I want a fixed bridge guitar because the floating bridges seem to make keeping in tune some kind of Sisyphean task. As[…]
The V-drum experiment (part 1)
During the holiday season we were fortunate to have a visit from our friend (and fantastic drummer) Jim Evans. Jim has lent his talents to the DD69 project on every record so far, and the upcoming album is no exception. Normally we book a studio in town to record the[…]
Giving the vocals the “treatment”
As part of our May “finish the record” marathon, I’ve recorded lots of vocal tracks this weekend. I have one good condenser mic (an AKG C414 that I’ve had for about a dozen years) and I generally use that. I’ve used a Shure SM57 on occasion, but I don’t get[…]
Happy Birthday
Today would have been my grandfather’s 90th birthday. Every July 10th I tip back a few manhattans in his honor. When I was in my early teens I desperately wanted a pro synthesizer. I had my Casio, of course, but I wanted to get into the realm of real gear.[…]
AC=DC (air conditioning = deliciously cool)
Wow, it’s hot in Cleveland. It’s not a ‘dry heat’ either – you can feel the air sluggishly fighting with you when you are breathing. I am grateful for the sunny day, even with the heat, but it also makes me glad that we’ve got climate control in the house. […]
Marshall = Want
I’ve been fortunate that my friend “The Deuce” has lent me his Marshall JCM800 amp and cabinet while he’s off camping for a few days. Maybe fortunate isn’t the right word, because now I really want one of these. I’ve cut several guitar tracks thus far, and it’s been fun. […]